Do Children Grow at Different Rates during the Year?

Though it's relatively well-known that children don't grow at a steady rate throughout childhood — puberty being one well-known major growth spurt — it's not relatively well-known that the seasons — winter, fall, summer, and spring — seem to have an impact on a child's growth rate. Many children grow more quickly in the spring and summer, and then maintain a relatively steady height throughout autumn and winter. This seasonal increase in growth is thought to perhaps be the result of increased exposure to sunlight during spring and summer months, but other contributing factors may include genetics, home environment, and nutrition.

More about growth spurts:

Puberty — which generally begins in girls between 8 and 13 years old, and boys between ages 10-15 — often ushers one of the most major of growth spurts in children.

A child may grow an average of three times more quickly during a spring growth spurt in comparison to the steady rate throughout the rest of the year.

Increases in height and weight do not necessarily occur during the same seasonal growth spurts. Weight gain has been found to be more common in the autumn and winter, while height tends to stay level.

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Discuss this Article

anon992185Post 4

You get Vitamin D from the sun, and Vitamin D is important for bone growth.

SohaPost 3

How can the sunlight and exposure affect the rate of growth of children in summer and spring? Can someone please give me an appropriate answer? It's confusing me a lot!

anon320454Post 1

As plants and everything, also grow faster in spring, so the children do, which also are like plants.